Sena Phantom ANC

ANC, or Active Noise Control, is all set to be the next big thing in helmet design. In simple terms, ANC monitors soundwaves within the helmet via a microphone and plays an inverted soundwave through the speakers which cancels out any noise. It’s an established technology that has been used by headphone wearers on planes, trains and crowded high streets for years. Its transfer to motorcycle helmets, where noise is not just irritating, it can be damaging, has taken a while, but this year has seen several implementations by the sector’s top tech brands.

US brand Sena has launched an ANC version of its Phantom, a full-face touring helmet packed with the all the latest tech at a price which undercuts its current rivals. But does it work? It’s a qualified “yes”, but at the moment it’s not quite the game-changer that I think it has the potential to be.

Looking at the basics first, the Phantom ANC has all the standard features you’d expect in a premium full-face lid: drop down sun visor, Pinlock anti-fog insert, plush interior, etc. It also has a couple of more unusual additions in both a red rear light and a front mounted white spot lamp that provides a handy way of finding dropped keys in a dark car park. It’s a fairly substantial helmet, with a claimed weight of 1650g, and my medium-sized example actually weighing in at 1740g, but it is well balanced and doesn’t feel overly hefty in the wearing.

Sena is one of the biggest motorcycle comms manufacturers in the world, and its expertise shows in the quality of the built-in system: the intercom options include Mesh 3.0 and Wave, so connecting to a riding group to trade insults is a breeze; phone calls were clear and easy to understand at both ends; and the sound quality for music is the best I have heard in a helmet, with a clear bass and no loss of top-end frequencies at normal riding speeds.

So, on to the ANC. Even with ANC turned off, the Phantom is an extremely quiet helmet. During my regular A-road commutes, it was hard to hear much difference between ANC and non-ANC trips with earplugs in– a slight change in the amount of wind noise was perceptible, but it really is minor. Riding without earplugs revealed a more noticeable decrease in wind noise, although whether it is as much as Sena’s claimed 20dB reduction is debatable. On a long motorway trip at higher speeds the difference was more evident even when wearing earplugs, with the ANC noticeably cutting wind noise.

Overall, the Phantom ANC is a great helmet – quiet, comfortable and with excellent sound quality for music on the go. However, the ANC is, currently, not as big a game-changer as I expected. I don’t think that ANC has yet reached its full potential, but hopefully, as the technology matures, Sena will be able to refine it further, maybe providing adjustable levels of intervention for different ride types – super quiet for motorways, exhaust noise for spirited rides, allowing traffic noise in urban areas etc., and it will become a must-have helmet feature. With constant updates already being fed through the helmet’s app, I feel it is more a question of when, rather than if.

The Sena Phantom ANC comes in black or white for an SRP of £519.

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